This past summer, the Little League team from Uganda qualified for the Little League World Series. Due to the challenges of obtaining visas they were unable to participate. They would have been the first team from Africa to ever take the field at Williamsport. The opponent they would have faced in the first round would have been the team from Canada.
With the help from Ruth Hoffman and her organization Right To Play, along with film maker Jay Shapiro and Little League country manager Richard Stanley the kids from Uganda got the chance to play the Canadian team. This time on their home field. The kids from Canada traveled to scrimmage against the Uganda Little League. There to watch were major league players Derek Lee and Jimmy Rollins. With the equipment donated from Pitch In For Baseball the players from Uganda defeated the Canadian Little League team 2-1.
Our next shipment of equipment for Uganda is expected to depart the Pitch In For Baseball warehouse later this week. The program and passion for baseball in Uganda continues to grow.
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With the generous financial assistance of the Major League Baseball Players Trust, Pitch In For Baseball has successfully helped the tsunami-affected school and Little League programs in Japan. The donation of new equipment consisting of bats, baseballs, gloves, catcher's gear, batting tees, helmets, and equipment bags was delivered to children in November.
Pitch In For Baseball’s program to support youth baseball in Japan has expanded significantly. Due to a partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Trust, PIFB will now be assisting 32 school-based programs in the town of Ishinomaki in addition to the 4 Little League programs in Myagi prefecture. Funding from this partnership has enabled us to order new equipment from Wilson sporting goods and will pack this equipment in individual “team kits” once we receive it in our warehouse. We anticipate delivering the equipment to the effected communities in November.
